Is there a was to have gradient fill that follwos a curve. exapmple
Create a narrow retangle object cover to curves and then bend the object to a curve for example an 's'
when fill with linear gradient fill the fill flows only on the direct assigned in the fill properties...so if the object is horizontal and a curve added tot he centre the fill is only horizontal....
my question how can I get the fill to follow the conplex curve and maintain the colours assigned to the gradient
There is a way to bend a gradient, although this may not be what you are after. It will work with any gradient type. Create your fill, and then export it as an .emf file. You can then reimport this file and then you can use the envelope tool to bend this fill to your liking.
There is much you can do with the mesh tool, but often times I have not used it because it does not work well if the lines of your shading are not running either perpendicular or parallel to your horizon. Well, duh, I finally read to rotate it. So I make much better use of the tool by rotating it into the appropriate position and then using PowerClips to isolate parts that I want to flow differently.
By planning ahead, with the above technique of exporting to .emf (which is also going to work with the mesh tool), you can get loads of incredible renderings. But if you are not getting a smooth gradient this way, you can bump up your number of steps to way over 256 which is standard. 500 works well, 800 even better, but you have to keep an eye on your processing power. It can eat into what you are doing.
To do this well, I create sub-files, a dedicated file to work on a certain part, so in the master drawing, I will have converted the effect to a bitmap. But should I need to alter that part, then I open that part, edit my work, and resave the bitmap and copy and paste it into the master file.
This keeps DRAW running optimally and makes less risk of DRAW thinking about rendering for a long time. This gets scarey when you haven't saved your file in a long time. Let experience be your guide, and plan your work out so you don't have a crash.
Jeff Harrison has to be credited with this technique, learned it from him.
You can also break letters apart such as the letter "S" and rejoin nodes in order to blend between them. You can then get a center line and this opens up other blending options. But if using the contour tool you have the gradient tool which works with it as well. This technique has a tutorial which was once offered by Internet Eye. Which you can Google. It can be used to render incredibly shiny text.
Thank you for the mini tutorial...geeesh. Corel should have address this versions ago.
What would be great if we could actually assign a gradient fill to a compound object that follows a path similar to 'Text to Path' this would beat anythng that Illustrator has and wouldl certainly propell corelDraw to as the industry standard...just think mesh fill would be obsolete woooho
no get me on mesh fill I still cannot get it to work right.
Come on Corel..I know you programming gurus can do this.
Not sure if this is what you're after, but applying a gradient with the Blend Docker is fairly simple.
Make 2 circles for your blend, any width you choose. Apply.
Choose the New Path. Blend along Full Path.
Change the number of steps to something huge, like 200 or more.
If this is what you're looking for.........Wahla.........all done.
I think what messes people up with using the mesh fill is to try to do a complex shape and shading off the bat. Start simply. Standard mesh tool preset is 3 by 3. If you use 1 x 1, you add meshes as it makes sense. Similar to the envelope tool, nodes are there but you don't have to have as many as it gives you. When we learn, start basic, then add. Try keeping your nodes only on one axis as you experiment add the other axis. The mesh doesn't need to be a finished product, you can use it inside of PowerClips so you can mask what isn't working. Life isn't about "I can't". If anyone else can master it, then so can I and so can you.Believe. Actually there are some cool tutorials out there on meshing around. Really helped me. I don't need to reinvent the wheel, in this case. They are free and found quickly with a Google search.
Mostly I use the mesh with making woodgrain, and things like fruit, in wine glasses. Converted to a bitmap, with added transparency, loads of things can be accomplished. A good teacher is to draw a leaf and render its shading. Begin by always rotating what you are drawing into the axis easiest to use a mesh with, then rotate it back when you are done. Like with warping a reimported .emf file which was a DRAW gradient, if you plan what you are after, your success rate goes way up. Additionally, you can design your own brushes and sometimes a brush is what will make the correct shading. But the time to discover that isn't under a deadline on a job, either, is it? When I am working, I look for the simplest solution and if I can't solve a problem, I go home and brainstorm, practice a technique until I have the master of it down to a few minutes. Then I can apply that whenever I may need it from a repetoire of techniques. I try to practice new stuff once or twice a week. Third gold letter is mesh inside a PowerClip.
Working solely in vector isn't always the answer. PhotoPaint solves many problems. If you get the hang of its tools, then it does become easier to use with DRAW than Photoshop. It was how it was designed.
More coffee... when it comes to the term graphic designer - a picture is worth a thousand words! I'm not sure I followed everything you were saying Sally, but the examples helped tons. Also keep in mind with Mesh that you can add, eliminate and manuever nodes - I don't see that discussed much. You aren't stuck with merely the grid number you select.
I remember when the feature came out, I was ecstatic, I had plenty of time to experiment and spent months working on the boom box in my gallery (it's incorporated into a more complicated design-guess I should just upload the boom box). I remember being so frustrated as the rendering took minutes to display after dragging a color to the design area on my NT system. Add some color, take a sip of coffee, add some more color take another sip... todays computer systems finally caught up. When I was finished I printed the final on mylar and wow did the end result look like a photo! Later I used the effect for a pterodactyl on some product packaging, but it's still definitely too time consuming for many projects, unless it's a simple shading effect.
I like the idea you suggest using Powerclip in conjunction! Powerclip is a great tool for a myriad of uses. Just created a corporate logo and used Powerclip to add the texture inside the outline, exported to another utility for embossing - voila!